Preciousness within and Preciousness without
A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry and the wise woman opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation.
The traveler left, rejoicing his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the wise woman. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, “I know how valuable the stone is, but I give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious: Give me what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.”
This is a wonderful story with multiple layers of deep meaning. It tells us that the wise woman had something in her—a deeper understanding—that enabled her to part with what was considered precious in the worldly sense. At best, the message is symbolic: Unless we have that something precious inside us, we are not able to share precious things outwardly!
The story also portrays that the wisdom of the wise lies in understanding the impermanence and precariousness of human valuables and structures. We are told that we cannot take anything with us. But we can certainly leave something behind. Only a life guided by a wise mind and a generous heart is a life capable of leaving something worthwhile behind.
When the Buddha was asked to describe the hallmarks of an awakened person, he simply said: “Cool mind and a warm heart!” By cultivating a cool mind and a warm heart, we may discover a genuine way to pass on our gifts to others.
From the author’s book, 7 Habits Of Highly Fulfilled People: Journey from Success to Significance
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